Chapter 4

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One night the King finally managed to fall asleep. He didn't get woken up by nightmares but what woke him up was an unbearable cough. When he opened his eyes he was surrounded by flames and even his pants caught on flames. He quickly took them off and turned to his wife:

"Wish, Wish! Wake up!"

He started shaking her but Wish wasn't answering and Vorkalth couldn't stay there much longer. He gave up on his wife and tried his best to get out of bed. The second he jumped off the bed collapsed and Vorkalth got projected forward. He didn't even look back and made a run for the door. The handle was burning hot and Vorkalth had to try three times before he could open the door. The hallway wasn't in a better shape than the room and Vorkalth felt his lungs burn. He couldn't even see anymore and his eyes started tearing up. He forced himself to walk and protected his nose with his clothes.

He was sweating profusely and his head started spinning. At this point Vorkalth was coughing up blood and he had to crawl to continue. The ground was burning his hands and knees but he didn't feel them anymore and could only think of one thing:

"Keep going. You have to keep going."

Vorkalth had complained a lot about how small the Palace was but for the first time in his life he regretted ever extending it. He should have left everything as it was. If so by now he would already be out and safe.

At the top of the stairs Vorkalth didn't have the strength to stand up anymore and wanted to roll down but that was when the stairs collapsed in front of him. The hole was way too deep for Vorkalth to survive the fall and he stayed there for a few seconds, not having any idea what to do. He didn't have any choice so he stood up and jumped off the railing. He hit the ground in a loud crash and needed long seconds to get his breathing back on track. He had to move. He couldn't stop moving.

Vorkalth rolled on his back and tried his best to ignore the blinding pain in his legs. He crawled to the entrance and was finally free.

"Your Majesty!"

Knights ran up to Vorkalth and helped him up but suddenly froze:

"Doctor! Call a doctor!"

Vorkalth couldn't feel anything because of the adrenaline and was just relieved that he was alive. He closed his eyes and smiled but when he opened them again he saw a figure. It was a slender and short woman whose face he couldn't see. She was standing at the top of a hill and was staring down at Vorkalth. He couldn't see her face but he knew she was smiling. He could feel it right to his bones and he started shaking:

"No!"

It was impossible!

"Your Majesty? What is wrong? Where does it hurt?"

But Vorkalth couldn't hear anything they were saying anymore. He was terrified and he needed to run. He had to get away from here. Quick. He didn't want to die. He couldn't die. Not like this. Not now.

"Don't let her approach me! Please save me! No!

-Your Majesty! What are you talking about? Quick, where is the doctor?"

Vorkalth fainted soon after and the last thing he saw was the terrifying smile. That smile followed him to his dreams and Vorkalth woke up in cold sweats:

"No!"

Seeing that he was awake, the doctor ran to him:

"You shouldn't move, Your Majesty. It is a miracle that you survived."

Vorkalth looked at the doctor with terrified eyes:

"She is alive."

Thinking that he was talking about the Queen, the doctor lowered his head:

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